Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an integrated safety accessory arrangement and components for users of personal watercraft such as kayaks, both closed hull and sit-on-top versions, as well as canoes, catamarans and similar craft.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
The provided safety features may be grouped as follows: hydration systems, navigation and communications systems, and hull pumping enhancements for closed-hull use including storage of portable manual pumps.
Personal hydration has been determined to be a critical safety factor for the full array of outdoor aerobic type sports, which includes personal watercraft paddling. An effective system should provide adequate fluid quantity, ease of access while underway, a hygienic configuration, and accommodate a variety of contemporary containers and reservoirs.
Navigation and communication are critical safety concerns for touring coastal and inland paddlers. Each paddler should be equipped with an efficient array of safety system features to reduce risks of events ranging from inconvenience to potential life threatening scenarios. Sea kayakers and those using large inland water bodies, are frequently exposed to dense fog and storms. Tidal influences are also a concern. Navigation and communication gear is necessary for safety. Currently, this gear includes: a good quality liquid filled marine compass, a GPS electronic navigation unit, a VHF receiver transmitter, an FRS radio receiver, a cell phone, and related evolving gear. Ideally, this gear must be easily accessible while underway, secured to the craft, and storable and retrievable and operable with ease.
A convenient method of pumping with the spray skirt in place, preferably with one hand, can greatly enhance safety. Personal watercraft are often used on waters where capsize self recovery may be a matter of survival. In any event, paddlers are expected to be self reliant and capable of self rescue. The most common problem in skirted cockpit closed hull watercraft such as kayaks, is that manual pumping of the flooded hull requires at least partial removal of the spray skirt to insert the pump into the hull. This compromises safety since in severe weather, storm water may enter through the skirt opening faster than it can be removed with the pump. Since emergency pumping is comparatively rare, most of the time the pump can be stored below deck in a secure location, thereby allowing other uses of the critical accessible foredeck space.
Numerous outdoor sports equipment manufacturers, such as Camelback, Blackburn, and Ultimate, provide personal hydration systems featuring flexible reservoirs and attached flexible drinking tubes. Their primary market is cyclists. These sources also provide a variety of reservoir containment packs, which include shoulder straps enabling users to carry the reservoirs on their backs and enjoy continuous access to fluids via the integral drinking tubes routed over their shoulders.
None have reservoir containment products tailored to the personal watercraft industry where the containment is installed and carried within the craft hulls.
The conventional backpack reservoir results in avoidable stress for paddlers and interferes with nominal paddling torso rotation.
The backpack configuration raises the paddler""s center of gravity and reduces watercraft roll stability.
The backpack configuration conflicts with most PFD flotation devices worn by personal watercraft boaters.
The backpack style gear also presents added risks of entanglement with watercraft appurtenances during self rescue operations.
None of the kayak industry manufacturers provide internal or external features that accommodate the popular flexible reservoir hydration systems with attached flexible drinking tubes, such as used by practitioners of other outdoor sports.
None feature hull port openings for routing these drinking tubes or associated methods of sealing such openings.
Several contemporary kayak manufacturers have included molded hull deformations to accommodate securing beverage containers.
These depressions are an inch or less in depth and provide inadequate container stability.
Further, they expose virtually the whole container to sun and weather such that content temperatures are unmanaged.
Several marine supply firms market a plastic cup like beverage holder that is placed into a matching deck or other flat surface opening on watercraft.
None feature an open bottom permitting passage of a manual pump shaft.
None are designed to be integrated in a concentric installation within a system of hatch fitting safety accessories.
None have companion storage options.
None have rims slotted to recess accessory and hatch cover tethers.
None have internal non slip surface treatment to better secure beverage containers.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,213 (2000) Stevens, features a kayak beverage holder system integrated on the surface of the foredeck in the deck elastics. The position of this installation precludes practical concurrent use of a foredeck access hatch with or without an accessory system, significantly obstructs popular deck bags, fully exposes the beverages to sun and weather, and has no integrated system for the internal hull storage of the beverages. The recited objective of the Stevens patent is to serve beverage containers in the form of standard 12 ounce aluminum cans or slightly smaller. Larger containers are poorly served or not compatible. Prior art references and comments in the Stevens patent apply to the present invention.
Several contemporary kayak manufacturers have included molded hull platforms to accommodate after-market addition of liquid compasses.
In every case, these are situated forward of the kayaker to enable viewing the compass, however, they are all too far forward for physical access by the kayaker while underway.
None feature alternate storage for the compasses and none are designed to accommodate other kayaker accessible accessories.
Several contemporary kayak manufacturers have included standard or optional closed hull plastic access hatches with screw-in covers and pervious internal nylon fabric accessory bags. These round hatches are generally those having diameters of 12 inches or less and are not those normally provided for storage of large items and gear. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,246,859 (1981) and 4,280,434 (1981), Beckerer, are examples. These small hull access hatches provide hull interior physical access to enable attaching nuts and washers to external accessories and features such as rails for foot pedals, deck elastic anchorages, carry handles, paddle tether anchorages, and the like. When fitted with an internal fabric bag, they are also used for the secondary purpose of providing storage for miscellaneous small items such as keys, snacks, and the like.
These hatches and covers, with and without internal bags, are provided industry wide by firms such as Beckson Marine Inc, and Viking Mfg. Company.
The accessory bags are all water pervious and therefore provide no protection for contents from bilge water.
When the hatch cover and features are integrated into a watercraft safety system, rapid one handed manipulation is critical. Ideally, the threaded cover should release in one quarter to one half turn.
The common hatch cover thread requires several full revolutions to release the cover.
The common plastic screw-in covers include molded finger depressions to allow engagement for screwing off and on.
These depressions are shallow and are difficult to use with cold fingers and or gloved hands.
None provide alternate covers accommodating internal hydration reservoirs or integral ports for access and sealing of flexible drinking tubes attached to these reservoirs.
None feature screw or other covers adapted to serve hydration, navigation, communication, or manual pump operation.
None of the available screw in hatch covers are fitted with tethers and therefore they are easily lost overboard. In storm and rough water conditions, loss of a hatch cover may result in swamping the watercraft and possible capsize.
The common plastic access hatch fittings and flanges are designed to be installed on a planar or near planar surface. Contemporary kayak fore decks slope significantly from the cockpit rim to the bow and have transverse or hinged slopes across the lateral axis.
This practically precludes use of common access hatches on kayak fore decks unless a custom platform is molded into the deck for this purpose or a custom rigid or flexible adapter is provided.
In closed hull skirted cockpit style kayaks, hull access day hatches are most often installed just aft of the seated kayaker, and just aft of the rear kayak bulkhead when present and generally on the starboard side of the hull deck.
The aft access hatch position is out of view of the seated kayaker and provides no functional platform for other accessories requiring kayaker viewing and manipulation.
None include provisions for integration of a hydration system and the related hatch cover modifications necessary to pass and seal the flexible drinking tubes.
None include hatch covers with convenient D shaped handles that facilitate use with cold and or gloved hands.
None include waterproof internal storage bags which protect the contents from exposure to bilge water.
On sit-on-top or open kayaks, these hatches are normally on the center axis of the craft, either at the seat base level of the hull immediately forward of the seated kayaker, or on a raised divider hull deck projection separating the kayaker foot wells. In the later position, the hatches are often installed at angles between thirty and sixty degrees off horizontal with the tilt such that the opening faces the kayaker.
The non-horizontal forward installations provide no suitably level platform for popular liquid filled marine compasses.
None of the forward position installations include features for mounting supplemental accessories or facilitation for hydration systems such as enhanced beverage container use or internal reservoir class hydration systems with flexible extended drinking tubes and the related hatch cover port modifications necessary to pass and seal these flexible drinking tubes or tether the port caps.
None feature internal waterproof storage bags. None feature hinged supplemental tops allowing internal storage access for the screw covers or other potential accessory adapters sized to screw in the threaded hatches.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,950,555 (1999), Damask describes a personal watercraft manual bilge pump system that features a fixed pump situated within reach of a seated kayaker, on the fore deck of the hull. It also includes a linked intake component and an optional small compass integrated into the pump handle. This pump is proprietary, fixed, and the intake system is an integral element.
It cannot accommodate common portable manual pumps, nor provide in hull storage for these pumps.
It does not accommodate integrated hydration system components such as a beverage holder or flexible reservoir and draft tube.
It cannot accept or store navigation and communication accessories.
The compass feature is permanently integrated into the small pump grip.
This compass is significantly smaller than those liquid filled marine compasses that are considered the standard of the industry for personal watercraft.
The size of the compass is limited by the integration into the pump handle.
It is not practically removable, storable, nor does the size deliver the standard of accuracy established in the personal watercraft industry.
The complex pump system and repair parts are not commonly available.
Use of this system precludes use of other critical navigation and communication accessories since it is fixed in place at the optimum foredeck location needed for access to these other accessories.
The most common manual pump in the world is the Beckson Marine Inc. model 318P1/FPS3R, a manually operated portable pump fitted with a foam rubber flotation sleeve and non ferrous compass friendly internal components. This product is retailed under a wide variety of brand names. It is highly efficient, simple, reliable, and inexpensive. Storage is normally on deck, under the foredeck elastics.
Storage under foredeck elastics is accessible, however it is not as secure as in hull storage and uses space needed for storage and other accessories.
Pumping out a flooded watercraft hull requires partial removal of the kayaker""s spray skirt, thereby exposing the hull to more storm water.
Pumping in this manner also requires both hands. This precludes simultaneous use of a low paddle brace position which is often necessary to avoid recapsizing in rough waters.
The present invention is an integrated safety accessory arrangement and components for users of personal watercraft which provides solutions to needs unmet by prior art. Said arrangement includes features addressing boater personal hydration, mounting and storage of navigation and communication accessories, and concurrently facilitates one handed emergency use of common portable manual pumps and storage thereof within a closed hull kayak.
Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the present invention are:
The main object is to provide an integrated personal watercraft safety accessory system of the character described which obviates the disadvantages noted in the previous prior art discussion.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an integrated safety system of the character described in which a personal watercraft boater has easily accessible and functional options for a broad variety of personal hydration options while underway. More particularly, alternatives serving both a broad array of common rigid beverage containers in a fashion where unanticipated emergency hull pumping will be facilitated. Additionally said system will accommodate larger capacity flexible hydration reservoir systems fitted with flexible drinking tubes, in hull containment for such reservoirs, and hull porting and sealing of the associated drinking tubes. Both port caps and hydration system adapted hatch covers are fitted with tethers to avoid loss overboard.
The advantages of the present invention include an integrated system of complimentary components providing paddlers with convenient easily accessible personal hydration alternatives. These include accommodation of a broad array of common rigid beverage containers as well as all contemporary flexible reservoir class hydration systems. The invention allows rapid transition from rigid beverage container use to emergency hull pumping through insertion of a manual pump. The present invention also provides less environmental exposure to beverages thereby reducing risks of contamination and improves temperature stability. The in hull compartment for the flexible hydration reservoir avoids paddler""s physical stress, avoids impaired ability to paddle effectively, lowers the personal watercraft center of gravity thereby enhancing roll stability, reduces risk of equipment entanglement during capsize recovery, and retains the sealed hull integrity.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an integrated safety system of the character described in which a variety of safety oriented navigation and communication accessories including but not limited to GPS devices, VHF transmitter receiver radios, FRS receiver radios, cell phones, liquid or electronic marine compasses, and the like, can be accessible, useable, manipulatable, and storable, within reach of the boater while underway.
The advantages of the present invention include provisions for use of a broad array of personal watercraft navigation and communication devices in a position easily accessible, useable, storable, and retrievable, while underway. The present invention includes tethers securing the various hatch cover mounted accessories to avoid loss overboard. The present invention provides alternate storage options for the various hatch cover mounted accessories. Dependant on embodiment, these include in hull mounting rings and waterproof storage bags integrated into accessory hatches. A further advantage in the present invention is the provision of a D handle on the hatch covers to facilitate removal and replacement with cold and or gloved hands even without visual observation, thereby enhancing the rapid manipulation often necessary for safety.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an integrated safety system of the character described in which the sport""s common portable manual pumps can be safely utilized for one handed pumping with a fully sealed kayaker spray skirt in place and provisions for storage of said pumps within the watercraft hull when not in use or when need is not imminent.
Advantages of the present invention include provision of accessory components and companion use of standard watercraft features which collectively enable one handed emergency use of common manual pumps while cockpit spray skits are fully sealed in position. Included are a beverage holder for rigid containers having an open bottom allowing passage of the pump shaft, a permeable open bottomed fabric sleeve allowing unrestricted water flow to the pump, an anti rotation component keeping the pump in near vertical position, and use of common watercraft foredeck elastics to restrain the manual pump in place while pumping. An integrated pump holder provides secure in hull storage for a portable manual pump. The pump holder includes a friction feature that retains the pump in the holder and allows release when withdrawn. The position of the integrated pump holder avoids conflict with paddler activities including ingress and egress.
Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description.